SB764 • 2026

Defendant; deferred disposition in a criminal case, license suspension.

An Act to amend and reenact §§ 19.2-298.02 and 46.2-398, as it is currently effective and as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to deferred disposition in a criminal case; license suspension; driving while under the influence.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Stanley
Last action: 2026-04-22
Official status: Governor's Veto
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's status is 'Enacted' but it has been vetoed by the Governor, which means it is not currently in effect.

License Suspension for Criminal Cases Involving Vehicles

This act allows courts to suspend a driver's license during deferred disposition for vehicle-related offenses and requires alcohol treatment programs and ignition interlock devices for DUI convictions, excluding commercial drivers.

What This Bill Does

Allows a court to suspend someone's driver’s license when they are charged with an offense related to driving or operating watercraft, even if the case is put on hold (deferred disposition).
Requires people convicted of drunk driving to complete alcohol safety programs and use cars equipped with ignition interlock devices.
Excludes commercial drivers from these requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

People charged with vehicle-related offenses who have their cases deferred by the court.
Individuals convicted of DUI violations.
Commercial drivers are not affected by these changes.

Terms To Know

Deferred disposition: A legal process where a case is put on hold and the defendant agrees to certain conditions, like community service or treatment programs, instead of going through a full trial.
Ignition interlock system: A device installed in cars that prevents them from starting if it detects alcohol on the driver's breath.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill was vetoed by the Governor, so its provisions are not currently law.
It does not specify when or how these changes would become effective.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SB764AC

2026-03-14 • Conference

Conference Report

Plain English: The amendment proposes changes to Virginia's laws regarding deferred disposition in criminal cases and license suspension for driving under the influence, as agreed upon by a joint conference committee.

Recommends rejecting a previous House Amendment (SB764AHE).
Proposes accepting a new substitute amendment (26109599D) to address disagreements between the Senate and House versions of SB764.

The specific details of the substitute amendment (26109959D) are not provided in the given text, so the exact changes it makes cannot be described.
Further information is needed to understand the full impact and specifics of the proposed amendments.

SB764AHC1

2026-02-27

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision allowing for a court-imposed record in cases where an agreement cannot be reached.

Adds language to allow the court to impose a record when there is no agreement between parties.

The exact circumstances under which this new provision would apply are not specified, making it unclear how often or in what situations it will be used.

SB764AHC2

2026-02-27 • Committee

Criminal Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision allowing for a court-imposed record in cases where an agreement cannot be reached.

Adds language to allow the court to impose a record when there is no agreement between parties.

The exact circumstances under which this provision would apply are not detailed, making it unclear how often or in what situations the court will use this authority.

SB764AH1

2026-03-02 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision allowing either an agreement between parties or a decision by the court to determine what should happen when there is no specific record.

Adds language that allows for either an agreement between involved parties or a court's decision if there is no existing record.

The amendment text provided is incomplete and does not fully explain the context of what 'record' refers to, making it difficult to provide more specific details about its impact.

SB764AH2

2026-03-06 • Member

Delegate Kilgore Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes a sentence in the bill by adding 'the' before 'Commonwealth'.

Adds the word 'the' before 'Commonwealth' in line 14 of the bill.

This change is very minor and does not significantly alter the meaning or impact of the bill.

SB764EDOC

2026-03-09 • House

House Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision allowing for a court-imposed record in cases where there is no agreement between parties.

Adds language to allow a court to impose a record if there is no agreement between the involved parties.

The exact circumstances under which this court-imposed record would be used are not specified in the amendment text.

SB764ASC1

2026-02-16 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds an exception to license suspension rules for people with commercial driver's licenses or permits and those who were driving commercial vehicles at the time of a violation.

Adds an exemption from certain license suspension provisions for individuals holding commercial driver's licenses or learner's permits, as defined in Virginia law.

The amendment does not specify all details about how this exception will be implemented or enforced.

SB764AS1

2026-02-16 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment modifies Virginia law to specify that certain individuals with commercial licenses or permits are exempt from license suspension requirements under deferred disposition for specific offenses involving motor vehicles and watercraft.

Adds an exemption for people with commercial driver's licenses or learner's permits who were operating a commercial vehicle during the alleged violation.
Clarifies that this new rule applies to offenses based on the operation of a motor vehicle or watercraft where license suspension is required.

The amendment text does not provide details about how these exemptions will be enforced or what happens if someone with a commercial license commits an offense outside their work hours.
It's unclear how this change will affect existing cases or whether there are additional regulations that need to be updated.

SB764AS2

2026-02-17 • Member

Senator Surovell Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes a specific phrase from an existing law related to criminal cases and license suspensions.

Removes 'and the Commonwealth' after 'defendant' in line 14 of the bill.

It is unclear what the exact impact will be without knowing the full context of the sentence being modified.

SB764S1

2026-03-14 • Conference

Conference Report Substitute

Plain English: The amendment changes the conditions for deferred disposition and driver's license suspension for certain criminal cases involving driving under the influence.

Adds a requirement that defendants must install and use a certified ignition interlock system in their vehicles for at least one year without alcohol-related violations to be eligible for deferred disposition.
Specifies that defendants must complete an approved alcohol safety action program as part of the conditions for deferred disposition.

The amendment text is truncated and does not provide full details, making it difficult to explain all potential changes comprehensively.

Bill History

2026-04-22 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-04-22 Senate
Motion to pass in enrolled form rejected (9-Y 28-N 0-A)
2026-04-13 Governor
Vetoed by Governor
2026-03-31 Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB764)
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 Senate
Enrolled
2026-03-30 Senate
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB764ER)
2026-03-16 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB764)
2026-03-14 Conference
Conference Report released
2026-03-14 House
Conference report agreed to by House (62-Y 34-N 0-A)
2026-03-14 Senate
Conference report agreed to by Senate (27-Y 11-N 0-A)
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate Conferees: Stanley, Surovell, Deeds
2026-03-12 Senate
Conferees appointed by Senate
2026-03-12 Senate
Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-12 House
Conferees appointed by House
2026-03-12 House
House Conferees: Simon, Cousins, Williams
2026-03-11 House
House insisted on amendments
2026-03-11 House
House requested conference committee
2026-03-10 Senate
House Amendment rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 House
Read third time
2026-03-09 House
committee amendment agreed to
2026-03-09 House
Delegate Kilgore Floor amendment passed by (62-Y 35-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 House
Engrossed by House as amended
2026-03-09 House
Passed House with amendment (61-Y 35-N 0-A)
2026-03-06 House
Floor Offered
2026-03-06 House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-05 House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-04 House
Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar
2026-03-04 House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-03 House
Read second time
2026-03-02 Courts of Justice
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N)
2026-02-27 Criminal
House subcommittee offered
2026-02-27 Criminal
Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N)
2026-02-24 House
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-24 House
Read first time
2026-02-24 Courts of Justice
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
2026-02-24 Criminal
Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal
2026-02-23 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB764)
2026-02-17 Senate
Read second time
2026-02-17 Senate
Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote)
2026-02-17 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-17 Courts of Justice
Courts of Justice Amendment agreed to
2026-02-17 Senate
Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)
2026-02-17 Senate
Senator Surovell Amendment agreed to
2026-02-17 Senate
Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)
2026-02-17 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-17 Senate
Read third time and passed Senate (37-Y 2-N 0-A)
2026-02-16 Courts of Justice
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments
2026-02-16 Senate
Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments
2026-02-16 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-16 Courts of Justice
Senate committee offered
2026-02-16 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-16 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-16 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-09 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB764)
2026-01-21 Senate
Presented and ordered printed 26105584D
2026-01-21 Courts of Justice
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Official Summary Text

Deferred disposition in a criminal case; license suspension; driving while under the influence.
Permits a trial court, for any offense based on the operation of a motor vehicle or a watercraft for which suspension of a driver's license is also required, to suspend the driver's license of a defendant when deferring disposition. The bill also allows a trial court to defer judgment for a violation of driving while intoxicated and require that the defendant participate in and successfully complete an alcohol safety action program and prohibit the defendant from operating a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an ignition interlock system. The bill excludes from its provisions any person with a commercial driver's license or commercial learner's permit or who was operating a commercial motor vehicle during the alleged violation.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

(SB764)
GOVERNOR'S VETO
Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 764, which would significantly expand the use of deferred dispositions in criminal cases. The enrolled bill would permit the lessening or removal of penalties across a range of crimes.
Senate Bill 764 removes key guardrails that help ensure consistency and fairness, and it pre-empts a Commonwealth's Attorney's ability to prosecute some cases.
I am particularly concerned about the application of this bill to DUI offenses. Virginia has worked hard to reduce DUI-related crashes and fatalities, but impaired driving continues to take lives and devastate families across the Commonwealth.
Virginia's criminal justice system must be fair, equitable, and focused on rehabilitation as well as accountability and public safety, and Senate Bill 764 undermines accountability and public safety.
Accordingly, I veto this bill.